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Day 5 in Ghana!

It still feels a little unreal. But being here in Ho, Ghana has actually been better than I could have ever imagined. I feel like I’ve been here for weeks not just a couple of days. Actually, today is day 5 for Cole, Ellen, and me! I think we all couldn’t be happier! We’ve been taking in every second. Every long second! Long, because here times moves very slowly! When you say it will take 10 minutes it could take up to 2 hours! I think that it contributes to everyone’s patience here and general happiness. I’ve been loving the lifestyle personally!

Now, I’d be lying if I said it was an easy adjustment. It’s not so much shock that got me but the general problems of adjusting to another time zone and all the jet lag. It was also hard because we traveled for the first couple days we were here and did not get to where we are permanently staying until Monday night. Not having a place to keep my stuff or know where things were was hard. Also, since I have been here it is funny to notice how little things can become big problems. We have one toilet where we are staying and it hasn’t been working and that almost became a problem. And then it is surprising how hard it is at first to shower with only a bucket of water. I mean you wouldn’t think about how the bucket is pretty heavy so even lifting it to pour over your head is a feat in itself! But all these things have made me realize even here how lucky we are to have such generous people hosting us. I have not met even a single person who was not welcoming!

Here, in the Adaklu district in the volta region of Ghana, the people speak Ewe. We have been trying so hard to learn it and I am actually surprised at how much we have picked up so far. Yesterday, a 14 year old girl was writing down words and phrases for me to practice and most of the time just laughed. But she said that at least we are trying. She speaks English very well. It made me a little embarrassed to only know one language, but it is now my goal to really learn Ewe. Everyone is helpful in teaching it to us when they are not busy laughing.

All in all, we are off to a good start. Unfortunately, we have not started our actual projects because of many roadblocks and challenges, but if we continue on course then we should begin in the morning! I think we are getting a little antsy and would really like to start as soon as possible. I guess we are learning a little Ghanaian patience.